The present invention relates to a thermal heat pack for heating the female breast during post partum nursing and, more particularly, to a thermal heat pack which readily conforms to the contours of different sized female breasts to provide therapeutic heat to an adjacent breast to reduce swelling and irritation.
A number of cup shaped thermal heat packs are known in the prior art in which thermal heat is provided through a heat pack to provide a therapeutic heat to the human body. Examples of this type of heat pack are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re 14,024 of Whitmarsh, 2,298,361 of Freund, 3,500,832 of Nunnery, and 5,050,595 of Krafft. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,621 of Fletcher discloses a liquid cooled brassiere used with diagnostic mammography. Other brassiere patents in general are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,853,077 of Hunau and 3,430,632 of James. Heat packs in general are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,537 of Spencer and 4,846,176 of Golden. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,821 of Lerner describes a swimming garment wherein breast shaped cups are formed from flat sheets having V-shaped cuts in the sheets.
These patents are incorporated by reference herein for teaching devices in which breast shaped cups are provided for therapeutic use or otherwise.
The above prior art devices have many disadvantages. Typically the devices include cup shaped portions which do not conform closely to various sizes of the breast. If the heat pack does not snugly fit the breast once in position, the heat pack may be too tight or too loose to optimize heating resulting in uneven application of heat to the breast.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a bendable thermal heat unit which assumes a cup or cone shape upon application to the breast. The present invention adjusts and conforms to various sizes of the female breasts to which it is to be applied. The present invention provides a layered conformable member with a shape substantially like a disk having selected indentations to permit formation of various sized rounded conical cups.
Although the Freund, Nunnery and Krafft prior art thermal pack units provide cup shaped heat packs, the prior art devices do not increase or decrease in size to accommodate, adjust or conform to various sized breasts. With all of the prior art, it is necessary to provide various sizes of specific heat packs to include the wide range of female breast sizes. Consequently, a large variety of different sizes must be provided so that a user can select a size which will fit a particular breast. With the present adjustable invention, however, one size fits all.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and provides a simple, pliable, light-weight thermal heat pack which readily conforms to the contours of any sized female breast to provide therapeutic heat or cold to the adjacent breast areas.